Video game developer FromSoftware has officially announced the long-awaited Elden Ring expansion is coming, and the DLC is titled “Shadow of the Erdtree.”
The announcement came in the for of a tweet that says “Rise, Tarnished, and let us walk a new path together. An upcoming expansion for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree, is currently in development. We hope you look forward to new adventures in the Lands Between.”
I’ve spent a lot of time playing Elden Ring since I picked myself up a copy, and the game is both incredibly fun and frustrating. It’s such a beautifully designed game and it’ll be exciting to see what this new DLC has to offer.
The new expansion will be available for PS4 and Xbox One, as well as current-gen and PC systems. Unfortunately, there are no details on what the DLC will entail. All we really have is the title and the image that was shared above. Anything else is just speculation.
One thing that a lot of fans believe is that the figure on the right of the image above is Miquella. The character never appears during Elden Ring, but Sir Gideon Ofnir confirms that the character is alive and is confined in a cocoon. So, there’s a chance that “Shadow of the Erdtree” could take place after the events of Elden Ring, where Miquella finally breaks free of his cocoon.
Here are some details on the character’s lore:
Miquella, the brother of Malenia, is one of the Empyreans. Cursed to be forever young, he created the Haligtree to allow himself to grow to be an adult and to purge the rot from Malenia. This is after the realization that the Golden Order was unable to cure Malenia from the rot.
“One of the incantations of the Golden Order fundamentalists. A gift of gratitude to the young Miquella from his father, Radagon….. And yet the young Miquella abandoned fundamentalism, for it could do nothing to treat Malenia’s accursed rot. This was the beginning of the unalloyed gold.” – Radagon’s Rings of Light
Before he could grow the Haligtree to its full potential, Miquella was stolen away by Mohg, Lord of Blood, in his cocoon form. Mohg wished to have Miquella elevated to godhood with himself as Miquella’s consort. However, regardless of how much blood Mohg tried to share with Miquella, Miquella does not respond to Mohg. From a lore perspective, Sir Gideon Ofnir has confirmed that Miquella is alive because one needs to be alive to slumber. Gideon’s aforesaid comment about Miquella slumbering is consistent with cut content suggesting that Miquella is in the world of his dream, and this may explain why Mohg received no response from the physical body that he has abducted from the Haligtree.
“Wishing to raise Miquella to full godhood, Mohg wished to become his consort, taking the role of monarch. But no matter how much of his bloody bedchamber he tried to share, he received no response from the young Empyrean”. – Remembrance of Mohg, Lord of Blood
“Miquella is mine and mine alone” – Mohg
“If he continues his slumber within the cocoon, all will be well…” – Sir Gideon Ofnir
This is just one of many directions the DLC can go. What do you think the DLC will be about!? Are you excited that a new DLC for Elden Ring is finally coming?
Rise, Tarnished, and let us walk a new path together.
An upcoming expansion for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree, is currently in development.
We hope you look forward to new adventures in the Lands Between. pic.twitter.com/cjJYijM7Mw— ELDEN RING (@ELDENRING) February 28, 2023